Alex Azoury

After graduating from the University of Technology (Sydney) with a Degree in Business, he studied and practiced in the building industry – followed by a long period of world travel. Versatility and life experience was the aim of his travels.

After becoming a Barista in 2014, his love for coffee pushed him to create homegrounds.co and blog about coffee. He found his passion in pour over / filter coffee, which he brews whenever he gets the chance. The overwhelming amount of unorganised information motivated Alex to help fellow coffee lovers solve brewing problems.

Alex spends his time travelling the world, connecting with coffee lovers, exploring coffee plantations, and learning more about coffee. His aim is to teach home baristas around the world how to brew amazing coffee through education and inspiration. His other passion involve surfing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

“I love brewing coffee as morning ritual. Rather than waking up and knocking back a quick espresso and heading on my way, I like to take it sloooow. I enjoy taking my time to grind the beans (usually with a hand grinder), and brew a slow filter coffee (usually with a pour over coffee maker). It’s the process that gives me the most joy. The smells, the sounds, the attention to detail required (if you want amazing coffee). And when you put in the effort like that, the coffee tastes so much better”

“What is your favourite Brew method and why?“

“Right now its definitely pour over coffee – aka, slow, hand filter coffee. I love it because of the process. If you take care to control the variables, you end up with a unique tasting cup of coffee. And you really get to taste the true flavour of the coffee. If it’s an espresso based coffee i’m craving: a Piccolo latte.”

“What coffee bean / origin, blend are you currently enjoying?”

“Will since i’m so obsessed with filter coffee, I’d have to say any bean from farms in Central America, especially Costa Rica. Of course, I don’t mind a nice fruity African bean, but the central American beans just seem to have the perfect balance of flavours for me – notes of floral and fruits, but still retaining that strong ‘coffee taste’. I don’t know how else to describe it. Its coffee that tastes like coffee, with some hidden flavours if you brew it right”

“Talk about one of the biggest mistakes you made when first brewing coffee at home.“

Im amazed at how confused people get when it comes to pairing the right bean to brew method. But I don’t blame them – I made this mistake from years. When you take all the brewing methods, and multiply it with all the coffee bean types/regions….you have an overwhelming amount of combinations. And some of these combinations are terrible! I remember the first time I brewed pour over coffee with a dark roasted Brazilian espresso blend. What the hell was I thinking!

“What piece of advice would you give to a new, aspiring home brewer who wants to learn to brew unbelievable coffee?”

When trying out a new brew method – treat it like an experiment. Note down the variables such as water used, temp, bean used, grind size, brew time etc. and record the taste. If possible, use a coffee journal for this. Now – how does it taste? What are the flavour notes? Chances are it won’t be perfect the first time, but you can now change one variable at a time, and see where you end up. Maybe you’ll try a slightly larger grind size? Or maybe you’ll try a medium roasted bean? Follow this methodology/ style of brewing and you’ll end up nailing some perfect, badass coffees, that you can make again and again!.

We are obsessed with great coffee - and since you've ended up here, we can only assume that you are too! Our goal is simple - to continue to learn about speciality coffee, develop our home brewing skills, and to share what we learn about it with the you and the rest of the world.

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